What if~Rome remained in power? (part 2)
In this Alternate World, the Roman Empire has stayed financially, socially and culturally stable, and because of this it remains in power in Europe. This is Part 2 of What if the Roman Empire remained in power. Just click on this Link here if you haven't read the first part. This part will cover the next half millennia (from 1000-1500) where the Romans would have to deal with several rival factions such as the Umayyids, the Mongols to epidemic of diseases such as the Bubonic Plague as well as the birth of new ideas and even exploration to other lands such as the Americas and other places. Part 1 It is 1000 AD, and Rome is in power for nearly a Millennia. Now it must deal with some aggressive outside influence. The first battle they would have would be the Umayyids. In our reality, the Umayyids have spread their influence into North Africa after the Roman Empire fell. With this, the Umayyids have also spread Islam into North Africa as well as even made up their own scientific discoveries and inventions. But in this alternate reality, the Umayyids are confined to the Middle East, and because of this they don't have much of an influence in Europe. Much like how they invaded Europe in our reality, the Umayyids also invade the Roman Empire. The matchup here is quite simple. Both sides excel in close quarter fighting, but because the Umayyids have lighter weapons and don't have armor, this gives them only a slight speed advantage over the Romans. But the Roman warriors can put up a substantial fight against this faction. Not unlike what they would fight against 2 centuries later: The Mongols. In this alternate reality, Ghengis Kahn still rises to power in Asia, he Conquers China and then sets out to the west. Even after Kahn's death, the Mongols still progress through Asia. This would not be Rome's first encounter with Asian military aggression, in our reality the Huns would invade some parts of the Roman Empire which further unravels issues going on in the Empire and (in some ways) accelerated the collapse of the Roman Empire. This is where things get interesting. Because there are obvious advantages and disadvantages for each faction. The Romans (of course) have the latest in weapons and armor, but the Mongols are known to be a fast, mobile force and can outrun and encircle Roman Troops very easily. Though, the Roman armor and shields can deflect Mongolian Arrows. Both sides excell in close quarter combat. Because this is an alternate reality, it is unclear whether or not the Romans would win or lose against these factions, but for the sake of this reality, let's say they do. But because the Roman Empire is different than it was in our reality, they would try diplomacy and negotiate pacts and treaties with these other factions rather than destroying them outright. Because of these treaties, the Roman Empire could open up trade with these factions as well as sharing information. But, in just another century the Romans could deal with another challenge......of the biological variety Part 2 Even in this alternate reality, the Bubonic Plague would still spread across Eurasia. However, because Rome is still in power, this wouldn't be the first time the Romans would encounter the disease. In 536 AD (in our reality) a mysterious cloud of dust enveloped most of the world (possibly from a volcanic eruption) that blocked the Sun's warming rays, which had lowered temperatures and has spread famine as well as drought in some places. Though, it is still up to debate, but this enigmatic dust cloud could also have caused the world's first known outbreak of Bubonic Plague. If this is true, than in this alternate reality, the Roman Empire would have encountered the Plague once before. But does that mean they would come up with some kind of medicine that can treat the disease? No. Though, the Romans were ahead of their time as they have created the foundation of modern mathematics as well as science, as in our reality they used their mathematics to make their now legendary Aqueducts a feasible invention, and they are even some forms of cures for poison and other medicines. But, the Bubonic Plague is more complicated. It is a Bacterial infection spread by fleas and infected Rats, and bacteria as well as viruses are very difficult to kill. Because of this, the Plague spreads into Europe from Rats that have stowed away on carriers used by the Roman Traders from Asia (as they did in our reality). Approximately 60 million people died from this disease which causes social, economical and political turmoil (as it did in Europe in our reality) but for the sake of this reality, Rome remains in power. Part 3 Now just a century after the Plague outbreak, and the Roman Empire still stands. Like in our reality, it is very possible that the Roman Empire would welcome some new ideas. In our reality, Europe has seen the Renaissance, the invention of the Printing Press and with it the mass production of books. In this alternate reality, these things can be made much earlier than they were in our reality and with the production of books will also come the improving of science since religions such as Christianity and Islam being almost non-existent. But here comes the question, what would the Romans do when it comes to exploration, as in exploring lands that haven't been known to Rome before, such as the Americas? In our reality, the Vikings (technically) discovered America first, but didn't document it. In this alternate reality, the Vikings didn't discover America as they are just a minority tribe because Rome never fell. The Romans would eventually fund the ideas of finding new lands, and unlike with Christopher Columbus in our reality, it would be a bit easier to fund this kind of expedition as the Romans were far less superstitious than Europeans are in our reality. It is also possible that the Romans could reach the Americas earlier than Columbus did in our reality with the quick spreading of new ideas. But just like Hernan Cortez and the Spanish Conquistadors in our reality, it is entirely possible that the Romans would take the land by force, away from the Native Americans. So there could be another conflict between the Romans and another faction, but this time it is the Native Americans. But unlike in our reality, the treatment of Native Americans could be much worse with the mindset of Romans, but that wouldn't be until another few centuries. It could also be possible that we could also see another revolution between the Roman Empire and those to seek independence from the Roman Empire. This will be one of the things that will be discussed in the last part of this alternate scenario along how would the world would be going into the 21st century. You can check it out by clicking on this final part What if~Rome remained in power? (part 3)